Jonathan's orchestral work Rear-view is performed by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ruth Reinhardt. Also on the program Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No. 2 with soloist Andrei Ionitâ and Brahms' Symphony No. 4 in E Minor.

Photos by Jonathan Kirn

11.11.2023

Jonathan is named the new Co-Artistic Director of Dallas's Voices of Change. Jonathan will begin his tenure during the 23-24 season alongside Maria Schleuning. He will take on the full directorship in the 24-25 season, VOC's 50th anniversary.

05.13.2023

Jonathan's work Nifrach premieres with the the Illinois Philharmonic Orhcestra. His final piece of his residency with the orchestra. Lawrence A. Johnson of Chicago Classical Review calls the work "another impressive achievement by the gifted Cziner."

Read the full review here.

05.04.2023

Jonathan's upcoming premiere with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra is featured in the Daily Southtown of the Chicago Tribune. The piece which is dedicated to his late grandfather who left Nazi Germany in the late 1930's will be performed on string instruments saved from the Holocaust.

“It’s extraordinarily meaningful. I’m trying to find words that express the profoundness of having these instruments used for this performance and what it would have meant to him.

“My hope is that even though he can’t hear it, it provides comfort to not only my family but to people in general. Many American Jews were forced to flee their homes and create a new life here in the United States. Many other people have had that (kind of) experience in their own way.”

“The title ‘Nifrach’ means ‘We Will Blossom’ so the idea of being uprooted and flourishing in a new place. My grandfather’s story is emblematic of that but it’s emblematic of the American Jewish experience for a lot of people,” said Cziner of Dallas.

Read the full article here.

12.20.2022

Celestial Symphony is named "Best Composer Debut of 2022" by Chicago Classical Review.

Under music director Stilian Kirov, the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra has quietly done more than many to promote local talent by appointing a composer in residence every season. In November Kirov and the IPO gave fine advocacy to the world premiere of the Celestial Symphony by the new CIR, Jonathan Cziner, a young composer who clearly bears watching.

Read the full article here.

11.12.2022

Jonathan's work Celestial Symphony premieres with the Illinois Philharmonic Orhcestra. His first piece of as composer-in-residence of the orchestra. Lawrence A. Johnson of Chicago Classical Review calls the Symphony "an impressive work" continuing that "[Cziner] is a composer with an individual voice and the knowledge and technique to convey his ideas in a striking and kaleidoscopic manner.

Read the full review here.

03.13.2021

Jonathan's Ruach (and Other Delights) is premiered by the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall. Jack Angstreich of Film Festival Traveler called the work "arresting, [and] beautifully orchestrated."

10.05.2021

Jonathan is named Composer-in-Residence of the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. He will compose three new works for the orchestra during the 2022-2023 season.

Read the full press release here.

10.17.2020

The reviews are in for Jonathan's Violin Sonata No. 2 which was performed by Dallas New Music ensemble Voices of Change on Sunday October 18, 2020. Theater Jones characterized the work as "rich with brilliant timbrel effects and contrasting moments of resonance and delicate fillagree effects."

Read the Dallas Morning News review here.

Read the full Theater Jones review here.